Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 2012
Multicenter StudyMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage in residents of Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities: role of antimicrobial exposure and MRSA acquisition.
To identify risk factors associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) acquisition in long-term care facility (LTCF) residents. ⋯ MRSA colonization prevalence was high at 3 separate VA LTCFs. MRSA acquisition was strongly associated with antimicrobial exposure. Roommate sources were often persistent carriers, but transmission from roommates accounted for only approximately one-third of MRSA acquisitions.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 2012
Multicenter StudyEfficiency of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, billing code searches to identify emergency department visits for blood or body fluid exposures through a statewide multicenter database.
Blood and body fluid exposures are frequently evaluated in emergency departments (EDs). However, efficient and effective methods for estimating their incidence are not yet established. ⋯ Although an accurate subset of ICD-9 codes could be identified, variations across hospitals related to hospital coding style, efficiency, and accuracy greatly affected estimates of the number of ED visits for blood or body fluid exposure.